Plenty of dry weather this morning with sunny spells and well-scattered showers. Further showers will spread from the west this afternoon, some heavy with the chance of isolated thunderstorms, but they will ease this evening. Highest temperatures of 14 to 16 degrees with moderate west to southwest winds, easing later.
DID YOU KNOW?
One in 12 men is colour blind in red-green, by far the most common kind, while only one in 200 women is. But when it comes to the much less prevalent blue-yellow colourblindness, men and women are affected equally.
For privacy of those attending, the Diary requires to be invited by the organisers to cover events in a private, commercial or club location. This does not apply to public meetings, or events in public spaces.
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WHAT'S ON AROUND
Here is a link to a Calendar of upcoming events in Kilcullen. If you have an event you want listed, email the Diary.
The Kilcullen & Gormanstown Parish Lotto Draw is held at 8pm each Tuesday in the Parish Centre. This is a public event to which all are welcome. There's a prize draw each night for those attending. Details of previous Draws are here.
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TEXT ALERT
Forms for joining the Kilcullen Garda District Text Alert scheme are available from The Grocery in Calverstown, Kilcullen Garda Station, Kilcullen Credit Union, and scheme committee members. Please encourage neighbours and friends to join.
There were very many Halloween installations and decorations around Kilcullen during the last while, but we were particularly taken with this one at Old Kilcullen, which visually and very successfully connects the 400AD Christian monastic settlement with the spookiness and mythology of the modern Halloween.
Despite the drizzly start, which is set to clear, the second weekend of Pumpkin Patch Kildare 2024 was building up to what looks to be a busy day, writes Brian Byrne. Bookings for this weekend and next are strong, according to organiser Amanda Lambe.
There's enhanced traffic management on the site at Moortown, just south of Kilcullen, and new features include a cornfield maze, a dual slide, and more food truck options.
And, as with last year's inaugural event, opportunities to meet up with farm animals and ponies, and enjoy the centrepiece pumpkin-picking enclosure itself.
During the Diary's quick visit this morning, it was clearly setting up to be a family selfies photography special space for today and tomorrow.
Amanda Lambe with Harry, Holly and Niamh: "They have been a great help."
Sydney Harper with Sean Thornton and some KWWSPCA dogs looking for forever homes.
The crisp air and autumn sunshine helped to bring out large crowds yesterday to the first Pumpkin Patch picking event at Hacklow, Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.
Organised byAmanda Lambe and Mark Donovan, the numbers of families coming out surprised even them. In addition to the opportunity to pick their own pumpkins, those who who came could meet Ginger the pig and Basil the pony and enjoy goal shoots, wellies-throwing, and wet sponge potshots, as well as availing of a number of suitably rustic selfie photo spots.
The Pumpkin Patch is open again today from 11am-4pm.
Mark Donovan and Amanda Lambe, the Pumpkin Patch is ready.
When the Pumpkin Patch opens this morning at Hacklow, just outside Kilcullen, it will actually be the culmination of two years' work by organisers Amanda Lambe and Mark Donovan and their respective families, writes Brian Byrne.
The initiative, which will kick off the Halloween spirit over the next two weekends for Kilcullen youngsters and their adults, had a steep learning curve. An idea of Amanda's originally planned for last year on her family land, it didn't make it, in part because of a lack of knowledge about growing pumpkins. "We missed the boat last year," says Mark, who farms in the Kilgowan area and also has a landscaping business. "Our crop for last year was late, but we learned from it," agrees Amanda. "After that we did a lot of Googling and talking to other producers." This year they started again in April, setting down 2,000 propagated plants and then tending them through what was a difficult growing year between summer heatwave and almost monsoon rains.
Part of the process requires a natural pollination of the pumpkin flowers, and Mark got the idea to plant wildflowers and sunflowers around the acre where they were set, which attracted lots of bees and other pollinators. "When the pumpkins are growing they require a lot of watering, and a lot of weeding by hand because you can't use pesticides or weedkillers around food," he says. During the heatwave, the watering had to be done late at night. "It was so hot that it would have evaporated off if we watered during the day," Amanda recalls. "But it was all worth it when we saw the pumpkins actually growing."
The mature pumpkins had to be harvested a couple weeks ago and stored in the dry at Amanda's nearby stable yard or they would have deteriorated on the ground in the recent damp weather. "That took about six hours with about 15 people," she recalls. "Everybody was drafted in, sisters, brothers, neighbours and friends all came to help." During a frenetic yesterday, pumpkins were replaced on the 'patch' on straw so that people can drive in and pick their own this weekend and next.
There's music, coffee and crepes and other hot food from Mark's Moody Cow food truck catering business, and lots of fun for all through the day. "We have wellies-throwing and other country games," says Amanda. "It's all about natural rustic fun, and we'll also have some farm animals to see."
Finding the Pumpkin Patch is easy — follow Eircode R56 X860, or take the Calverstown road off the one to Athy and just watch for Steve Kinneavy directing traffic into the field around the patch — Mark is married to Steve's daughter Sarah. Once inside, Amanda's husband Shane will be doing parking management — a change from his better-known role as Kilcullen GAA legend. "It has all been very much a family effort," Amanda says, noting that her and Shane's sons Harry and Bobby have been working really hard too, "and they got a day off school to really muck in."
Would Harry and Bobby prefer to have been at school yesterday? Definite shaking of heads. Fun in the field is always a better proposition ...
The Pumpkin Patch is open from 11am-4pm through this weekend and next. Entry €5 plus charge for pumpkins.
A night of spooky stories and games will provide a suitable atmosphere for Halloween, upstairs in The Old Hardware Narraghmore on Monday 30 October.
Kicking off at 7pm, it's a night for all the family. If the upstairs part is too scary for parents, they can hide downstairs to renditions of local folklore tales and songs by Village Voices.
All welcome to the event, which is supported by the Kildare Credit Union Community Outreach programme.
A reminder that thousands of pumpkins will be available for picking over four days this month at a special Pumpkin Patch created near Kilcullen, writes Brian Byrne.
The Halloween family initiative by Amanda Lambe and Mark Donovan and their families will open for two weekends, 14/15 and 21/22 October, from 11am-4pm each day, at a cost of €5 per person.
The location in Hacklow-Moortown (R56 X860) is just a few minutes' drive south of Kilcullen. There will be food and coffee trucks and Halloween activities. Fun for all the family, and especially the little ones (though the organisers emphasise that the patch is NOT suitable for buggies). It's a dog-friendly event with dog-leads mandatory.
“It’s been a real team effort which involved our other halves, our children, close neighbours and fantastic friends all getting involved,” says Amanda. "Once you’ve picked your pumpkins, you can then stay to hide in our wild bird flowers, visit our animals, and then relax on a hay bale with a warm drink and crepe."
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